Star Gaze
by Eudoxus
Summary: When you get bored, you can always stop gazing and start counting. Slight ShikaChouji (if you turn your head just right and the lighting is just bright enough and you squint just hard enough) WAFF


AN: Barely barely BARELY BARELY BARELY there ShikaChouji... I meant to have something more substantial relating to them in it, but ah well. Squint. Maybe you'll see it. Written for Naruto500 challenge Insomnia.

Disclaimer: Nuuup, not a one is mine.

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Cloud gazing is nice. Laying face up with the grass tickling you through your shirt and the sun warming your belly, occasionally skewed by a passing bird or the very things you're staring up at. It's relaxing, to say the least, and the sun always always always lulls you into a sense of calm that's undeniably dangerous for a ninja of any rank, not matter that you're a genin with no fear of attack. Who would want to kill a kid?

Alright, so maybe there _is_ a little bit of danger to the situation, but he's always there beside you, and he never falls asleep or anything even close to it, munching away at whatever snack he managed to get his hands on, usually chips, sometimes something sweet, always something crunchy. And, as odd as it sounds, that crunching is almost as soothing as the sun, bathing your hearing in that continuous drone of _munch crunch... munch_. So you fall asleep, eyelids too heavy to keep open, to the feel of warm sun and scratchy grass and the sounds of Chouji snacking away beside you.

Even if you weren't attacked in your sleep, you still suffer the consequences of letting yourself go before bedtime. The day was tiring to say the least, nap or no, and your body is aching for the rest of a bed. But thanks to your midday dozings, your mind is completely wired and you can't stop yourself from tossing and turning on your mattress, throwing off the blankets and tangling your legs with the sheets. Troublesome. You stare up at your ceiling, looking for patterns in the cracks and dents, like looking up at the clouds, except the cracks don't change and their's no sun to warm you to sleep. Troublesome _and_ boring.

You sigh. This isn't working, and you know it wont. Not any time in the near future at least. So you untangle your body from the silky cocoon you've managed to concoct for yourself, throw your legs over the side of the bed and stand up, glancing around for some decent clothing. Maybe some fresh air will help you get this bout of insomnia out of your system. Probably not.

Hands stuffed in pockets you manage to wander back to where you and Chouji had laid hours ago, and to your surprise you see a silhouette in the grass that is obviously to big to be any one else other than said boy. And the slight snoring that's emanating from his barely shaking frame is a sure sign that he's deep asleep. Sighing, you wander over to him, letting your body drop next to his. You shiver as you feel the dew touch your skin through the mesh shirt you threw on earlier, and then calm down as you feel his warmth seeping through the air to meet your right side and slowly creep its way over your form. Looking up, you can see the stars making patterns more intricate than the cracks in your ceiling could ever hope to mimic, and the sliver of a moon casting its faint glow down to you and your companion.

You know you still wont be able to sleep, not with your pants soaking up water from the ground like a sponge, and even the body heat from someone as large as Chouji can't quite keep the breeze from chilling your partially exposed torso, but, you figure, it's your turn to keep watch anyways.

And it's not like star gazing is so bad. So it's the same thing night after night, you've never done it before and even a genius like yourself couldn't see everything in such a big sky in a few hours. That, and it's kind of nice to hear Chouji do something with his mouth other than eat for once, even if it snoring.

When you get bored, you can always stop gazing and start counting.

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AN: I love Shika/Chouji, it's so underdone. Maybe I'll write something more substantial when i finish with Trouble Sleeping :D Review please? Ill love you! 


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